Perpetual peppers, how to grow chilipeppers

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introPerpetual peppers, how to grow chilipeppers

It all started when I received a present of dried peppers from South Africa.

These peppers are really great, both is size and flavour so I decided to grow them myself and make pictures for this instructable in the process :).

Its my first instructable, it took a year to grow...

Perpetual peppers, how to grow chilipeppers

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step 1Collecting seeds

To get the seeds just open up the dried peppers

Collecting seeds

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35 comments	Add Comment

Sep 2, 2010. 3:29 PMzexy says:

Thanks for this great Instructable! I think it would do good for everyone to get back in touch with nature and the planet a little and this is just the type of excercise to get it going. :-)

Jun 5, 2010. 9:03 AMsherlocksbumstead says:

any good ideas on how to keep ants from eating my peppers' leaves? they're bhut jolokias (ghost chiles) and i REALLY want some fruit this summer.

Aug 19, 2010. 9:56 AMpatito says:

Try with some natural insect deterrent, no chemicals. I use dark tobacco: take the tobacco out of a cigarette and let it soak in 1 liter of water overnight. Then you'll have a brown liquid. Strain it, and pour into a spray bottle. The tobacco is a natural insect killer, and it does not harm the other plants.

Oct 26, 2009. 12:37 AMsecretsoto says:

thank you for taking the time to share. i have a question can i get seeds from any vegetable i buy from the market and grow it

Jan 9, 2010. 3:57 PMroadieflip says:

I have tried growing from seed from store bought produce, but have had trouble getting them to grow.

My friends mum said that because store bought produce is "forced", they tend not to give good seeds...

I don't know if there is any truth in that, or I just have the knack of killing everything I try to grow. Maybe one of our green fingered friends could comment.

Jan 14, 2010. 11:16 AMJonny Katana says:

In addition to the produce being "forced", I've heard that some growers genetically modify their plants so that the fruits contain seeds that will not germinate, effectively sterilizing the plant. After all, they can't have us laypeople doing something as self-sufficient as growing our own produce, that would drive them out of business!

Jun 4, 2010. 5:31 PMSilence says:

Hybrids apparently have difficulty germinating to start with. The prob with most produce is that its picked early and ripened on the road. This in my opinion is probably the biggest factor in low germination rates.

Jan 10, 2010. 8:44 AMromaine (author) says:

Well, I would advice you to invest a packet of 'proper' seeds and see what happens then.
If it depends on the treatment you give them: try dividing your seedlings in groups and putting them in different places/watering conditions/soil mixtures; whichever survives and bears fruit is the way to grow something at our home :)

Oct 26, 2009. 12:00 PMromaine (author) says:

Thank you for the friendly words, it was fun to make this instructable. The peppers are still producing, they survived the winter.
About your question:
What happens when you use seeds from bought vegetables is that you don't know what will come out, it cuold be that the vegetable in question has been polinated by another species. Sometimes the result may be interesting.
A pack of seeds is not really expensive and you are sure of the species that will grow out of them
(If you sow half the seeds the rest of the packet is there as a backup system)

Oct 26, 2009. 9:46 PMsecretsoto says:

thank u

Apr 18, 2009. 6:08 PMsherlocksbumstead says:

i got some bhut jolokia peppers that were dried and i think smoked from india. does the smoking kill the germ or whatever, preventing them from growing?

Jun 4, 2010. 5:23 PMSilence says:

Most likely. Smoking involves heating with temperatures around 275 to 300 degrees (according to the recipe i found) the seed germs will more than likely have been cooked thoroughly.

Jun 18, 2009. 8:43 AMchardster says:

I tried to grow some red habeneros , along with some pepperonchinis, and neither on will grow! they dont die, the just dont get bigger and wont produce peppers or flowers! i got them at a herb festival in little 4-inch pots, and they just wont grow! everything else in my garden is flourishing. i dont have a clue whats worng. maybe overwatering???

Jan 14, 2010. 5:29 AMWILL62 says:

How long we're your pepper plants in those little pots? your plants may be root bound. (roots all growing together in a tight ball) As soon as possible take your plants out of the pots and plant in the garden to avoid this, as it will stunt your plants. and don't fertilize until you have fruit then" let em have it" otherwise all the fertilizer will go to the foliage(leaves & Stems)and sometimes you will get no fruit at all! Fertilize one time when you plant them, then not again till you get little peppers about a 1/2" long, and full sun for peppers.water as needed

Feb 5, 2010. 2:34 AMromaine (author) says:

Thank you for adding knowledge to this instructable.
"Those little pots" were all I had at the time...
It is best for plants to have (root)space to strive in, it just happens to be that I lack space, a plot of earth and big pots.
I have a crop that suffices for our needs in those pots and since we have a lot of the sun around here, I have had the same plants growing and producing for two years in a row! The summercrop was a bit small and curly but in the fall we had nice, big, straight ones. I dried about 30 of them, for later use.

Jan 14, 2010. 5:02 PMoutandabout says:

With any chile peppers the wearing of some type of plastic or latex glove prevents any unwanted irritation to the eyes and other sensitive tissues.

Jun 28, 2009. 2:37 AMawang8 says:

Last time I handled a fresh pepper my nose became slightly snotty and I... umm... stuck my finger up the black hole. 5 minutes later my nose began to burn as though it was on fire (don't ask me how I know what that feels like) and stayed that way for hours... I tried to avoid cooking my own meals with chillies after that...

Jan 9, 2010. 3:59 PMroadieflip says:

Think yourself lucky you didn't go to the loo with chilli fingers. I have done that after handling habanero chillis, and I'll never do it again!

Aug 17, 2009. 7:04 PMexplosivemaker says:

....ohhh, I have done the exact same thing....hurt like crazy....

Aug 16, 2009. 10:35 PMairexurb says:

I'm glad you posted a picture of the flowers. Mine just started to flower and I was worried because they are pointing downward.

Jul 8, 2009. 4:20 PMmrjacobagilbert says:

if you find your peppers are not hot enough for your liking, abuse them a little bit. give them a few short droughts with lots of direct sunlight etc...

Apr 18, 2009. 2:09 PMgardenpat says:

Just keep in mind that if you are planting more than one variety of pepper to keep them away from the other varieties. They are highly promiscuous and you can end up with some that look like your bell peppers and taste like your jalapeno! Ask me how I know! LOL!!

Jun 20, 2009. 5:32 PMRotten194 says:

That's awesome, unless you're like me and can only eat bell peppers.... "Hey look! A bell pepper! Om nomnom. ARGH!"

Jun 24, 2009. 10:47 AMkitsuken says:

That would be an awesome prank XD

May 25, 2009. 2:29 PMpoi_pai says:

I dunno, I kinda want giant jalapenos...

Jun 10, 2009. 11:33 AMromaine (author) says:

This is an update on my pepper-pots.
Since I live in a very nice climate and due to a utter lack of time to garden, this sorry lot seized their opportunity and just grew on to produced these very varied peppers, in their second year . Peppers are supposed to be annual...
This morning I used them to make green tomato chutney (which is the sole purpose of growing them).

Jun 3, 2009. 4:13 PMIan1104 says:

dude i love hot peppers!! i grow tabasco, white habanero, red habanero, anahiem chile, jalapa mild peppers, rio grande chile, hot paper lantern habanero,chiletipin, peach habanero!!! i think you are growing jwala peppers my friend!!

Apr 16, 2009. 7:24 PMpeacenique says:

When I went to visit someone in Toronto a couple of months ago, I bought a small bag of Habanero peppers. They are never available in this small town I live in. I brought them home then thought it would be nice to grow some. DUH, I was wondering if I'd be able to find seeds for them... I HAVE seeds... right here in the peppers I had just bought. I cleaned a (fresh) pepper and set them on a paper towel to dry in a hot sunny window. As it was getting too close to being too late for this summer, I only dried them a week or so before planting them in small peat pots. Now I have about a dozen Habanero plants growing in my window! As soon as it warms enough, they're going out to my flower beds. I think I read somewhere that you can bring the plants in in the fall and keep growing the plant indefinitely. I'll sure be trying that! Imagine.. a hot pepper tree!

Apr 12, 2009. 10:31 AMiMac says:

Nice instructables! Nice to see theres more pepper instuctables out there ;) Your peppers grew pretty tall and thin from being planted so close to eachother, i would have transfered them once they hit 2-4 inches into a larger seperate pots... it'd keep em more shrubby. Neway, Very cool!

Mar 12, 2009. 6:59 PMcatman529 says:

It's called pollination...peppers are in the nightshade family, all of the members of which I believe are self-pollinating. That's why it's so easy to grow them, because no insects are needed to pollinate. Peppers are related to tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, groundcherry (tomatillo), and some others.

Mar 14, 2009. 3:09 AMromaine (author) says:

yes, they are self pollinating (outside the wind or insects is enough but if you have your plants inside you have to help the process by shaking the flowers lightly) but they can still cross-breed, I've had some weird looking fruits, especially in the tomatoes.

Mar 14, 2009. 12:31 PMcatman529 says:

Some people use a motorized device like a vibrating toothbrush to pollinate tomatoes. As far as cross pollinating, I've seen plenty of heirloom tomato varieties that were accidental crosses that were stabilized over the course of a few years. I haven't grown peppers yet but I would like to sometime soon. Maybe under my grow lights this winter. No more room in the garden this year, it will all be taken up by tomatoes, cukes, beets, and some herbs.

Mar 15, 2009. 12:16 PMromaine (author) says:

Greenhouse tomatoes are vibrated every day to get a bigger yield. As for 'no more room in the garden', mine is going to be expanded with a 'earthbox' . I have always grown herbs because they are easy to grow in pots. This year I am trying runner beans, more peppers and globe artichoke in old paint buckets.

Mar 16, 2009. 5:52 PMcatman529 says:

I am going to fit as many tainers as possible (mostly regular pots, but I want to try an earthbox). Maybe I can sneak in a pepper plant. Only problem with that is that I prefer to grow from seed, but it's too late to start peppers now and I would have to buy a plant that someone else grew. That's just my own problem though, I might pick one up at our farmer's market if I get the urge.

Mar 10, 2009. 6:41 PMtecneeq says:

This looks very nice. Maybe i'll start growing my own peppers soon :).

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